You can split a calendar into panes, and look at it using the same views, as you do for conferences. While in these views, you can do the same things you do with messages. For example, in list view you can sort calendar events.

In addition, there are the following specialized calendar views:

View

Description

To display

month

Shows the least detail, and highlights the current day.

Choose View > View by Month.

week

Highlights the current day.

Choose View > View by Week.

day

Shows the most detail, in time slots.

Tasks and untimed events are displayed at the top of this view.

Choose View > View by Day.

work week

Shows only your work week days, in day view.

Choose View > View by Work Week

Displaying additional information

You can open a pane to the left of a calendar to display additional information. To do this, choose View > Show Today List.

If you open this pane, you will see:

Today tab

Lists tasks that start today or are still ongoing, and events that take place today.

Tasks are listed before events, with urgent tasks and events before nonurgent ones.

Calendars tab

Lists all calendars that are available for you to display combined.

mini month pane

Displays dates by month.

The bigger you make this pane, the more months you will see in it. Days containing events are in bold.

Going to a different date

The navigation buttons in the top right corner of the special calendar views let you scroll backward and forward through calendar pages.

You can also click Today on the calendar or Go to Today on the toolbar to return to the current month, week, or day.

In month view, you can use the dropdown fields at the top of the calendar to go to a specific month and year.

To

Do this

What happens

go from month view to a specific week

1 Click a day within that week.

2 Go to week view.

The week is displayed in week view.

go from week or month view to a specific day

1 Click the day.

2 Go to day view.

The day is displayed in day view.

To open the first unread item, choose Collaborate > Navigation > Next Unread.

Using the mini month pane to navigate

You can use the mini month pane of the Today list view to navigate and change the view in the other pane. For example, if your calendar has a vertical split bar, and you are displaying the Today list in the left pane, selections in the mini month calendar affect the view in the right pane.

To change the months displayed in the mini month pane, click

or

To change the years, click

or

Making selections in the mini month pane

To

Do this

select a specific date

Click it.

select multiple consecutive dates

Click the first date, then drag the cursor over the remaining dates.

or

Click the first or last date, then press Shift plus the forward or back arrow key as many times as required.

select a week

Click to the left of it.

select multiple weeks

Click to the left of the first week, then drag the cursor straight down until all desired weeks are selected.

select a month

Click its name.

change your selection

Press the forward or back arrow key.

If you had one day selected, the next or previous day is selected. If you had one month selected, the next or previous month is
selected.

or

Press the up or down arrow key.

If you had one day selected, the same day in the next or previous week is selected. If you had a block of days selected, the next or previous corresponding block is selected (for example, the next or previous week).

How the mini month pane affects the view

Assuming that you have the Today list and mini month pane displayed in the left pane, these are the changes you will see in the right pane as you make selections in the mini month pane.

If you select

This is displayed in the right pane

one date

that date, in day view

multiple dates

all selected dates, in day view

a week

that week, in week view

a work week

that work week, in work week view

multiple weeks

all selected weeks, in month view

a month

that month, in month view

Customizing calendar views

You can customize your calendar views in the following ways:

• display week numbers (month and week views)

• change the day on which the week starts (month view and mini month pane)

To change the default start and end times, hover the cursor over them and drag when the cursor looks like a clock.

To color the event, choose Color from the context menu.

To add any other details, open the event.

2 Update the basic event information on the Event tab of the Event form.

The default start time and duration are based on values in your preferences. FirstClass looks for a free time slot within your normal work day (as defined by your preferences).

If you add reminders to the event, this icon is displayed beside the event:

Event participants will see these reminders based on their own preferences, no matter what you set here for yourself.

3 Update the Participants tab to invite participants, book resources that are in the Directory, and check that there are no conflicts.

If there are conflicts, you can reschedule the event using this tab.

4 Update the Repeat tab, if you want the event to show up repeatedly on the calendar.

If you make the event repeat, this icon is displayed beside the event:

5 Attach files or add content just as you would for a message, if necessary.

6 Choose Message > Priority > Priority Urgent, if you want to make the event urgent.

The event will appear in bold on calendars.

7 Click Save and Close.

The event is added to your calendar and the calendars of all participants and booked resources.

Notes

If you don't have permission to add events to a user's calendar, or they don't have a personal calendar, the event is sent to that user's Mailbox. If the user accepts the event, it's added to their personal calendar.

Events that you create in a group calendar are added directly to that calendar or to your personal calendar (with copies placed in the group calendar). The group calendar's permissions determine which method FirstClass uses. These events appear to come from the group calendar, not from yourself.

Adding events from other calendars

You can copy events from one calendar to another. This can be useful for adding events from group calendars to your personal calendar.

To copy an event to another calendar, drag it from the source calendar to the appropriate date on the target calendar.

You can also move events from one calendar to another by selecting them, then choosing Move to Folder from the context menu. You may need to close, then reopen the target calendar to see these events.

Using other objects to create events

You can drag an object, such as a message, into an open calendar to create a new event. A copy of the object is attached to the event. The original object remains unchanged.

In day view, the event is created at the time to which the object was dragged.

In other views, the event is created at the first available time on the date to which the object was dragged.

To create an event with the object attached in your personal calendar, you can also choose Attach to Calendar Event from the context menu.

Sending invitations over the Internet

If you invite someone who has an Internet address (an address that contains @) to participate in your event, the recipient will receive a message with an iCalendar attachment. This attachment can be imported into the recipient's own calendaring application.

If you later remove this participant from the event, the person will be notified. All other participants, internal and external, will receive the updated event.

Updating events

To change details about an event that you created, open it, make your changes, then close the event form.

If you change the start date, the event will move to the new date on the calendar. The event is also moved and reflagged on participants' calendars.

Caution

Try to minimize updating events with participants. Participants can customize their copies of events, and your updates will override that customization. You can safely update the color, category, or reminder information, and this won't interfere with participants' copies of the event.

If you delete a participant, the event is removed from that participant's calendar.

Exceptions

Updates will not be reflected in the calendars of users who were invited as part of a mail list, or are participants of an event created in a group calendar.

Shortcuts

To change the date of an event, you can drag it to a new date. Dragging an event to the Today list is the same as dragging it to today's date on the calendar.

You can also copy an event to another date by pressing Control (Windows) or Option (Mac) while dragging it.

To change the time of an event in month or week view, you can hover the cursor over it and drag, just as you can in an opened event form. In day view, drag the event to a new time, or change the start or end time by dragging the top or bottom of the event box.

Changing one occurrence of a repeating event

If you make a change to an event which is one of a series of repeating events, then close the event, you are asked which events you want to change.

Updating received events

You can change the color or category of a received event, and change when (or if) a reminder is generated for the event. This customization only affects your copy of the event.

You can also click a different response button (Accept, Tentative, or Decline). Others will see the icon beside your name that corresponds to your new response.

Deleting events

If you are creating an event and decide you don't want it, you can delete it while it is still open, just as you would an open message.

If you delete an event that you created previously, the event is removed from internal participants' calendars, and all participants are notified.

Exceptions

Deleted events won't be removed from the calendars of users who were invited as part of a mail list, or were participants of an event created in a group calendar.

You can delete one occurrence of a repeating event that you have created. If you delete a repeating event that was placed on your calendar by someone else, all occurrences are deleted.

When you create an event or task, you can tell FirstClass to generate a reminder.

If you are logged in, a reminder will appear as a popup window at the time you specified when you created the event or task. In the case of an event, this reminder will appear for each participant based on that participant's preferences.

To

Do this

see the details of the event or task

Click Details in the popup window.

make this reminder reappear

Specify when you want to see the reminder again at "Snooze", then click Snooze.

If you aren't logged in, the reminder is sent to your Mailbox as a message.

To specify a default reminder time for all events and tasks that you create, and for events to which you are invited, select "Set default reminder" and choose or type the time in your preferences.

Forwarding reminders to pagers

FirstClass can notify you of calendar reminders through your pager, if you have an email-enabled paging system.

To print a calendar immediately, click the Print toolbar button. The active pane is printed in the current view.

If you choose File > Print, the Print Layout form opens, allowing you to specify what you want to print.

Note

File > Print is just intended for making one-time adjustments to your print defaults. These changes aren't saved for future use. If you want to change your print defaults, use File > Print Layout to open this form.

You can view events and tasks from several calendars combined. For example, if a group calendar is available for viewing combined with your personal calendar, you can open your personal calendar, then view the items from the group calendar in addition to your personal items.

Note

You aren't actually adding these items to the calendar permanently, and they don't affect what FirstClass sees as your busy times.

To combine several calendars into one view:

1 Open one of the calendars.

2 Click the Calendars tab in the Today list pane.

This tab lists all calendars that are available for combining.

3 Select the checkboxes for the calendars you want to add to the view.

If a calendar has a color assigned to it, all items from that calendar will appear with the same color.

Clearing a calendar's checkbox on the Calendars tab removes all items belonging to that calendar from the view.

To open one of the calendars on the Calendars tab in its own window, double-click it.

Making calendars available for combining

To add a calendar to the Calendars tab, Shift-drag it to the calendar. For example, to add a calendar called Our Group Calendar to the Calendars tab of your personal calendar, Shift-drag Our Group Calendar to your personal calendar.

Note

The calendar you have open is automatically listed on the Calendars tab.

To make all items from that calendar appear with the same background color when they are added to the combined view:

1 Open the calendar's context menu from the Calendars tab.

2 Choose Color, then the color you want.

To allow any color coding that was added to items in their own calendars to show through:

1 Open the calendar's context menu from the Calendars tab.

2 Choose Transparent.

Making your personal calendar available to someone for combining

If you want your personal calendar to appear on someone else's Calendars tab, make them a member as described for public calendars below. Unlike public calendars, members of personal calendars see those calendars directly on the Calendars tabs of their personal calendars.

You can import items from an external electronic calendar into a FirstClass calendar.

Imports use vCalendar (a .vcs file) or iCalendar (a .ics file) format. These are common formats for transferring information between applications.

When you import a .vcs or .ics file, events are converted to FirstClass calendar events, and to-dos are converted to FirstClass calendar tasks. All imported calendar items are placed in your personal calendar. Any information that doesn't belong in FirstClass' calendar event and task fields is placed in the event or task bodies.

To import external calendar items:

1 Choose File > Import > Import Calendar.

2 Select the file.

To import a file attached to a message, select it, then choose Collaborate > Add to Calendar.

You can also change permissions for your personal calendar, if you want to change the expiry period for items in your calendar, or give other users more or less permission to use your calendar than is normally allowed.

We recommend that you select "Do not publish in Directory", so that your calendar isn't in the Directory. This lets you name the calendar whatever you want, without worrying about finding a unique name, and prevents users who shouldn't be seeing your calendar from knowing about it.

Your changes are saved automatically when you close this form.

Giving users access to your calendar

Setting permissions to enable users to work with your public calendar doesn't necessarily give them the access they need to use the calendar. This is sufficient for location and resource calendars, which are normally updated by booking them.

But for users to actually see a group calendar, so that they can work with it, it has to be located somewhere that's available to them, or be on the Calendars tab of at least one calendar that they can see.

You can put your group calendar somewhere that's available to users by:

• creating the calendar in a container to which they have access

or

• making them members of your calendar.

To make a user a member of your public calendar:

1 Select your public calendar.

2 Choose Members from the context menu.

If the calendar Permissions form is still open, you can click Members instead.

3 Click Add Member.

Shortcut

With the members list open, you can open a list of users, such as the Directory, select users, and drag them to the members list. You can also select a plain text list of user names (one per line) and drag them.

4 Select the user and click Add.

The user is notified of this membership by email, and your calendar is added to their Desktop.

If you are making the user a member of your personal calendar, your calendar is added to the list of combinable calendars in their personal calendar.

To see a selected member's profile, click Profile.

To remove a selected member, click Remove Member.

Tip

You can click the column headings in the members list to sort the list, just as you can in other lists. This lets you display the member names in alphabetical order.

Providing information about your calendar

To provide other users with information about a calendar:

1 Choose Collaborate > Permissions with the calendar open or selected.